Girl's Night Out!

It's girl's night out and we are ready to party!

It's important to get together now and then with your girl friends, let your hair down and have a great time. Boy, did we ever have a great time Saturday night!

Tina (on the left in blue - next to platinum blond Ann) kindly made arrangements for us to dine in style and dance the night away at Latino's in Windsor. Now, one might make the mistake of assuming that a restaurant named Latino's would be Spanish in nature and serve tacos alongside salsa music. One would be wrong. As Barbara raises her diet Coke to us, let me tell you what Latino's really is.

Tucked snugly between other buildings far older than the country in which I was born is a narrow shop of indeterminate history. Wooden floors, narrow stairs and low ceilings mark it as most likely belonging to the architectural era of Really Really Old Stuff. The decor of whitewashed walls and ceramic statuary marks it as belonging to a culture even older than that (if you can imagine). Because the statues are of Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite. The restaurant is Greek. Go figure.

It's 8 o'clock and we're all hungry. No delicate eaters here! For an appetizer I order delicious mushrooms sauteed in a garlic and white wine sauce. Mmmmm. Gemma, seated next to me, orders hummus with pita bread. Yummy! The others order everything from deep fried feta cheese to something involving fish. Ew.

The main course is chicken kebab for Gemma and me. The others order salmon, fish kebabs, and lamb dishes. The chicken is ok, but I've had better. But all in all the meal is fine. Dessert is a luscious strawberry cheesecake. Ummmm. Unfortunately, there was nothing of the chocolate variety on the menu. I distrust restaurants that don't serve chocolate.

Finally, the lights were dimmed and the keyboard plinking musician plucked up his mandolin (ok, it's actually a Greek instrument called the Bouzoukia) and began strumming all kinds of classic Greek music. Well, I'm not sure Zorba the Greek is all that classic, but you get the picture. Tambourines were passed around and Jenny started banging on hers with vigour! (Yours truly had to have a turn, as well!)

And then the dancing started.

Now, to say that the taverna is cozy is something of an understatement. Basically, you have to really like your neighbor. And hope that he/she is wearing deodorant. There is no dance floor, just narrow walkways between tables. That stopped no one. Nearly all of us were on our feet, in the aisles, dancing to Greek music and having an absolute blast! We didn't even miss the plate smashing! (Hey, when you're elbow to armpit, there's no throwing breakables unless you want a trip to the ER.)

As the evening wound down and the waiters kicked us out onto the streets of Windsor we passed by a bunch of drunk German tourists on bicycles. Only in England.

Can't wait until the next Girl's Night Out!